Let's Make A Deal

The Broussardian revelation that the league's best team has interest in Corey Maggette is exciting, to say the least. But here's the thing: a ball-dominant small forward is not exactly the kind of thing the Cavs are lacking. While Maggette is very good at what he does, his skill set doesn't marry all that well with Cleveland's current attack. Sure, he could provide offensive focus when LeBron's off the floor, but considering that LeBron has averaged about 44 minutes per playoff game over the course of his career, do they really need a B-team stud?

The Cavs may like Corey Maggette, but they'd love a big man. As such, the Warriors should offer them one. The Warriors should propose Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Like, now.

I love Ronny Turiaf. Love. He is my dirtiest dog; he is my brother from another mother. But let's be clear: there's not much point in a terrible team holding onto a consummate complementary piece like Ronny Turiaf. Ronny was put on this earth to be the third guy off the bench for a Finals contender, which is exactly what he was before the Warriors got their grubby off-brand paws on him. Ronny Turiaf on a 14-37 team is like a maraschino cherry on top of a cowpie. He can help the good get a bit better; he can't help the bad get good.

If the Warriors traded Maggette and Turiaf for expiring money, their '10-’11 roster would look like this:

Monta Ellis ($11M)
Andris Biedrins ($9M)
Vladimir Radmanovic ($6.9M)
Kelenna Azubuike ($3.4M)
Brandan Wright ($3.4M)
Stephen Curry ($2.9M)
Anthony Randolph ($2.0M)
Anthony Morrow ($1.0M cap hold/qualifying offer)
TOTAL: $39.6M

In other words, the team would have seven promising young players locked in (Monta, Biedrins, Curry, Randolph, ‘Buike, Wright, this summer's draft pick), plus Vlad (every rose has its thorn)… before extending Morrow, the Warriors could fit in a free agent who costs around $10 million. The Dubs could top the MLE, and in this free agency market, that could be worth something. Could it net you a David Lee or a Boozer? Who’s to say — quite possibly not. But it’d be an interesting amount of space in an interesting summer.

So, yeah. If I’m the Warriors, I double down here. I offer Ronny along with Maggette and promise to buy out Z within seconds. This is the trade; this is the moment; this is the window. The Warriors need to try their hardest to make this happen.